Why marine chronometers needed practical shipboard handling

A navigator needed a chronometer that would remain steady on a chart table, including in rough weather. Some Soviet chronometers still used large stabilized boxes during the Second World War. A postwar version and its long subsequent service are recalled tentatively, with reliability offered as the reason for retaining the arrangement. From about H4, Harrison's watch-like instruments were designed for use with either hand. A navigator could operate the chronometer with the left hand while writing with the right. That working requirement helped determine where the controls were placed.